It's during "Punkt" that it hits you, how good this band is, I mean. Staggeringly on point, Bar Italia arrive amid a good deal of deserved hype with Tracey Denim. The Matador Records release is one of the most invigorating things you're going to encounter in some time.
While "Punkt" has a sound which recalls early Cure, Anita Lane, and Sister-era Sonic Youth, the rest of this album is just as good. The nimble Wire vibes of "Nurse!" sit nicely near the dilapidated art rock of "My Kiss Era", a real highlight here. Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton crawl around the hooks of compositions like this with a rootless ambition and easy confidence in their powers to conjure up something special from familiar flavors. When the voices unite on the chorus (?) of this one, the effect is magical. While some of this material suggests debts owed to The Fall, Subway Sect, and even The Slits, Bar Italia are no mere revivalists. This music retains a vitality that certainly doesn't suggest a trio at a loss for their own path.
"Missus Morality", the longest track at four minutes plus of the 15 numbers here, is rough and lovely. I can't not hear a suggestion of the late Anita Lane in Nina's vocals, even as the music behind her on this one stakes out a deliberate path before things open up in an actually lovely chorus. The players have an intuitive grasp of how to leave things out, and the tunes never feel overwrought or overthought. There's nothing on Tracey Denim that doesn't pleasantly surprise. Sure, some of the tunes have a grim vibe, but each composition sort of pleased me, by offering up hints of things I grew up listening to, with new flavors added to the recipes.
One of the very best records 2023 is likely to serve up, Tracey Denim by Bar Italia is out on Friday via Matador Records.
[Photo: Matador Records]